There’s a newcomer in the local vermouth category: Method Spirits Sweet Vermouth. Decidedly in the Italian style, but concocted from herbs and botanicals — both local and imported — and distilled from spirits produced in the Finger Lakes region of New York, the vermouth is the work of Cory Fitzsimmons, a former head bartender at Union Square Cafe, and Jessica McGlinchey, a former assistant head bartender at Union Square Cafe. Your manhattan will blossom with a whiff of bark, dried fennel, toasted hazelnuts and honey. The vermouth is fine with a twist of lemon on the rocks, either before or after dinner. The partners are now working on a French-style dry vermouth. In gratitude for the support they have received from colleagues, they are donating a portion of their profits to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation and its Covid-19 Relief Fund.
Method Spirits Sweet Vermouth, methodspirits.com, $25 for 750 milliliters at Duke’s Liquor Box, 114 Franklin Street (Noble Street), Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 347-534-3088, dukesliquorbox.com.
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